Promoting separatism in Lanka:

Ministry to come down hard on errant teachers

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne said if the 11 university lecturers had obtained leave to participate in any unofficial meeting in London to promote separatism in Sri Lanka, stern legal and disciplinary action will be taken against them.

External Affairs, Defence and Higher Education Ministries are now conducting investigations to ascertain whether these university lecturers had participated in any illegal or anti-state conference organised by any separatist movement in London.

It has also been reported that even though some lecturers had obtained leave, they had not gone to London to attend the seminar, but have not informed the Ministry as yet, Dr. Nawaratne told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

State intelligent services are also conducting investigations to ascertain whether these lecturers had gone to attend a conference organised by any pro-LTTE front line movement Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam in London, under the pretext of participating in the World Research Conference on Tamilological Studies, he said.

He said 11 university lecturers of the Peradeniya, Jaffna, Uva Wellassa, Eastern and South Eastern Universities had obtained leave from August 12 to 20 to attend the World Research Conference on Tamilological Studies 2013 which commenced in London on August 14 which concludes today. They had been invited by the World Research Centre for Tamilology, London. The university lecturers include 10 Tamil and one Muslim lecturer.